May 1 (Reuters) – Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg
said there was a need to raise organ donation awareness and he
encouraged the social network’s members to speak up if they are
donors.
“What we hope will happen is that by just having a simple
tool, we think that people can really help spread awareness of
organ donation and that they want to participate in this to
their friends, and we think that can be a big part in helping to
solve the crisis,” Zuckerberg said on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning
America” program on Tuesday.
Zuckerberg explained that he was in part inspired by dinner
conversations with his girlfriend, a pediatrician in training,
and by observing what members achieved in times of crisis.
“When the tornadoes came through in Missouri a lot people
were using Facebook to organize and return items that were lost
to people who thought they would never find them,” Zuckerberg
said.
He added that he hoped when members explained how they came
to be organ donors and advertised that they are organ donors on
their pages, it would inspire others who were undecided about
the issue.
Surveys have pointed to reasons as to why not enough people
consent to be donors. Many are unaware of the great need for
donor organs, while others mistrust the medical establishment
and think they will not get life-saving measures if doctors know
they are a donor.
An average of 79 people receive organ transplants every day,
according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
However, an average 18 people die each day waiting for
transplants because of the shortage of donated organs.
